WooSox Cap Winning Season with 9-8 Victory Over Rochester

Worcester, MA – The fifth season of WooSox Baseball at Polar Park – a fifth consecutive winning campaign that began 178 days ago on a sunny and crisp March 28th day (the earliest start date ever for a Red Sox Minor League team) - came to a victorious conclusion on Sunday afternoon on another sunny and (almost) fall day when the Worcester Red Sox (76-73) defeated the Rochester Red Wings, 9-8.

Worcester pounded 15 hits, including 3 hits apiece from 2B Max Ferguson and CF Phillip Sikes, and then thwarted a Rochester 9^th-inning rally by stranding the bases loaded to provide the sellout crowd 9,508 fans with one more entertaining memory in a season full of them.

Worcester’s five straight winning seasons (2021-2025) are the first for a Boston Triple-A affiliate since the Pawtucket Red Sox had five consecutive winning years from 1996-2000. Furtermore, with Sunday’s win, the WooSox finished 18-6 vs. Rochester to post their best-ever record against any International League opponent during a single season.

The Sox scored runs in each of the first five innings. They got single runs in the 1^st (on 1B Nathan Hickey’s 17^th homer of the season well over the Worcester Wall in right), a run in the 2^nd as Ferguson doubled and scored on a sac fly by 3B Mikey Romero (2 hits, 2 RBI), and another run in the 3^rd on an RBI double by SS Tyler McDonough.

Shane Drohan started for the WooSox and took that 3-0 lead into the 4^th when he was charged with 2 runs (1 earned) before departing – 3.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 SO. Drohan finished with a 2.27 ERA in 12 games (11 starts).

Worcester kept their foot on the pedal in the 4^th inning scoring three more times. RF Karson Simas (2-for-3, BB, 2 runs) led with a single, Romero singled, and pinch hitter Enderso Lira walked to load the bases. Hickey walked to force in a run and McDonough’s RBI fielder’s choice and subsequent throwing error plated two more to up the Sox lead to 6-2.

The clubs traded 2-run spots in the 5^th as Rochester tallied twice off reliever David Sandlin – 1.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO – but the Sox answered with two of their own in the bottom half thanks to RBI singles from Simas and Romero.

Rehabbing Red Sox reliever Luis Guerrero worked around two walks to throw a scoreless 6^th inning and when the WooSox did not score in the bottom half it marked the first inning of the game without any runs.

Noah Song was touched for 2 runs in the 7^th inning as Rochester cut the Sox lead to 8-6, but Song bounced back with a scoreless 8^th inning. Worcester would tack what would be an essential insurance run in the 8^th as Chadwick Tromp’s liner off the pitcher scored a hustling McDonough from 2^nd base.

Isaiah Campbell gave up 2 runs in the 9^th but stranded the bases loaded to get credit for his team-leading 9^th save. The win went to Sandlin (4-2). Another highlight for the day was a single from Lira in the 5^th inning, in just his third plate appearance all season, as the 21-year-old spent most of the season on the WooSox Development List as an emergency catcher.

With their 25^th sellout crowd of the season on Sunday, the WooSox and their fans finished 6th in the country in average attendance among all 120 Minor League Baseball teams this season. Despite a team-record nine home postponements, Worcester’s final attendance total at Polar Park was 455,467 in 66 openings for an average of 6,901 fans. The WooSox have now drawn a total of 2,339,957 fans in their five years of existence. Furthermore, the WooSox are the only team in Minor League Baseball to sell more than 500,000 tickets in each of the last four years. Thank you WooSox fans!

For those who want to count down the days, it will be a mere 186 days before the 2026 WooSox take the Polar Park field to play their home-opener on Friday, March 27, 2026 vs. the Syracuse Mets at 4:05 pm. March 27th will then be the earliest date ever a Red Sox Minor League team has started a season.

Of course, Polar Park will be far from dark this baseball off-season as several special events are already planned highlighted by “Boo in the Woo”, a Halloween Festival throughout much of October with a spooky nighttime experience for mature audiences and a fall festival for children and families on October weekend afternoons, as well as “Winter in Wooville” throughout much of December when Polar Park is transformed into a magical holiday destination.

In the meantime, good luck to our big brothers in Boston this week and here’s to a long Soxtober!